I reached across the table and grabbed his hand. Arsel never missed an opportunity to tell me how he felt about me, but I felt it every day that I woke up.
“Trust me, I feel it.”
We went back to eating and bobbed our heads to the music. We’d been together for so long that sometimes we didn’t need to talk; just being in each other’s presence was enough. Even when I wanted to wrap my hands around his neck, Arsel was my best friend. I loved that man’s dirty drawers.
“Do you have any regrets?” I asked once I finished my food.
Arsel pushed his plate toward the middle of the table and sat back in his seat. His eyes remained on me the whole time.
“No regrets. Not even when you left, because I knew you would be back. That’s not me being cocky, either. I would haveresorted to begging if I had to. You are my entire world and then some, baby. We are in this until death, and every life after.”
“I don’t even have a smart comment to that.” I let out a low laugh.
“The only thing you can say is that you agree. Are you ready for the next portion of the date?”
That food made me a little sleepy, but I wasn’t going to miss out on the rest of our date. I could sleep whenever we got home. Mikayla would be gone for two days, so we had plenty of time to sleep and whatever else we wanted. Arsel was off for the next few days, so that was a plus.
“Yes.” I clapped my hands, and Arsel laughed.
He paid the bill, and we left. We drove toward home, but we stopped at the massage parlor he sent me to for my self-care day. We got couples massages, then when we left there, we picked up dinner.
Once we were home, we took a shower together, where Arsel fucked me against the shower wall. After we washed and dressed in our pajamas, Arsel took me into the office, where he had gotten me a new desktop computer, a new chair, and a new coffee mug.
As we watched a movie, I slid to the floor in front of Arsel and showed him just how much I enjoyed the day.
My heart palpitated as I drove Janiyah and me to our destination. I wasn’t even sure why I was so nervous; I already knew the answer to the question I wanted to ask her.
“Why do you look like you are going to shit your pants? And where are we going?” Janiyah asked, but I didn’t want to answer her.
I knew she wouldn’t let it go, so I had to make up something. “I don’t know what you are talking about because I’m nowhere near about to shit on myself.” I chuckled. “And you will see where we are going when we get there.” I squeezed her thigh, then focused on the road.
“If you do shit yourself, I’m not cleaning you up.”
“Damn, what would happen if I couldn’t do it myself?”
“That’s a different story. Don’t try and distract me from where we are going.”
Life for us had been a whirlwind, but I wouldn’t change it. Well, if I could have, I would take back what happened to Monica and Trevor, and maybe even spent more time with them when we could have, but there was nothing I could do about that now. I did make sure to cherish the people in my life and spend time with them when time permitted.
Since Mikayla’s birthday party a few months ago, Onyx and I had chilled together a few times. We even went to the pottery studio for men’s night. It was a cool experience, and we were able to connect with other guys. We discussed things that we went through as men, especially as black men. It was a safe space and an environment that I would always treasure. We were able to be vulnerable without being judged. Janiyah and Maverick had developed a friendship as well outside of books, and they would sometimes meet at the park with the kids.
I wanted to continue to show Janiyah how much I loved and appreciated her. She stood by me when I didn’t have much, so I wanted to give her everything. My wife was strong and knew how to get shit done. She was almost done with another book, because she said the inspiration hit her, and once she started writing, the words just flowed. I caught her writing a few times in the middle of the night because the characters wouldn’t stop talking. Her words, not mine.
“We are almost there,” I told her.
She sat up in her seat and looked out the front window. More than likely, she realized where we were headed or at least had an idea.
“This sure looks familiar.” She cut her eyes in my direction.
I glanced in her direction and smiled. I didn’t say anything; I just pulled into the parking lot.
“Why are we on the college campus, Arsel?” Janiyah took off her seat belt and turned toward me.
“Because I wanted to bring you back to where it all started.” I shut the car off and got out. I walked around to her side of the car and opened the door for her. I helped her out and led her through the parking lot.
Multiple times, I went through how I wanted the day to go, but suddenly, one night, I settled on this. If it weren’t for us meeting in college, we probably would not have met each other. We also might not have met Trevor and Monica and ultimately wouldn’t have met Mikayla. I believed everything happened for a reason, even if we didn’t understand why it happened.
Janiyah looked around as we passed multiple students hustling to their classes or playing around with their friends.
